


take one step forward, then a step to the right

by Meatball42



Series: Rare Pairs [99]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Bucky Barnes Has Cats, Cuddling & Snuggling, Early Days, F/M, Insecure Tony, M/M, Multi, Relationship Discussions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-27
Updated: 2019-08-27
Packaged: 2020-08-13 02:44:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,375
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20166856
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Meatball42/pseuds/Meatball42
Summary: Tony tugged at his collar in the mirrored walls of the Tower elevator. Maybe it was too much? It wasn’t like Natasha and Bucky hadn’t seen him in his usual around-the-Tower attire of jeans and a band tee, covered in liberal amounts of oil or grime.But… he wanted to make an effort. For them.





	take one step forward, then a step to the right

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lets_call_me_Lily](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lets_call_me_Lily/gifts).

Tony tugged at his collar in the mirrored walls of the Tower elevator. Maybe it was too much? It wasn’t like Natasha and Bucky hadn’t seen him in his usual around-the-Tower attire of jeans and a band tee, covered in liberal amounts of oil or grime.

But… he wanted to make an effort. For them.

And the flowers were probably ‘over-the-top’ by themselves.

The elevator opened on Natasha and Bucky’s floor. A softer-than-usual _ ding _served as a subtle reminder that Jarvis was supporting him. Tony flashed a quick smile at the nearest camera and stepped up to knock at the door.

Natasha opened it. She smiled up at him, her lips deep red, and Tony stared, suddenly breathless.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey.”

They stepped forward at the same time. Tony leaned down just as Natasha tilted her face upwards. Their lips touched softly. Tony’s hand that wasn’t holding the bouquet came to rest on Natasha’s waist.

“Come on in,” Natasha whispered. 

Tony followed her into the open-plan apartment. He toed off his shoes while she went to find a vase.

A pure white cat padded silently in from a side room while she was gone. Tony crouched down and held out his hand. The cat approached him and sniffed it excessively, then began butting his head and then his whole body against Tony’s hand.

Natasha came back with a vase.

“Did I know you had a cat?” Tony asked.

Natasha took the flowers from him and put them in the vase, then put the vase on a table by the seating area. “If you didn’t, your security isn’t as tight as I thought.”

“I don’t spy on you guys, you know.”

The cat wandered away and Tony stood up, wiping hairs off his hand.

“His name is Alpine. He’s Bucky’s,” Natasha explained.

“Is Bucky coming, tonight?”

Natasha sat on a soft-looking two-seater and patted the cushion beside her. Tony sat, slightly uncertain. Natasha took his hand, so he moved closer and let her rest their hands on his leg. She leaned her cheek against his shoulder.

“He texted to say that Steve and Sam kept him at training longer than he’d planned. He’ll be here soon.”

“Okay.”

Tony swallowed. He could feel the warm curves of her against the side of his body, smell the scents she wore. Natasha caught him staring, her green eyes glimmering in amusement. She angled her head and Tony obeyed the unspoken order, kissing her gently, but with no little enthusiasm.

She stroked his cheek with her thumb as they kissed, her fingers trailing the crisp lines of his beard. He laid a hand on her thigh.

They flinched apart when a fuzzy weight landed on their laps.

Tony laughed while Natasha scolded Alpine.

“You brat,” she grumbled. “Can’t you see I’m trying to entertain company? Get off!”

Indifferent to her shoves, Alpine squirmed around in a circle and settled mostly on Tony’s leg.

“It’s okay,” Tony excused the cat. “I don’t mind.” He stroked Alpine’s soft fur and after a moment elicited a quiet purr.

“Probably for the best,” Natasha agreed. “We should talk.”

Tony hesitated in his petting, an obvious tell that he regretted immediately.

“Oh yeah?” he tried to cover. “Talk about what?”

Natasha tucked a finger around his chin and kissed him again, more firmly. “Don’t panic,” she ordered quietly. “It’s not bad.”

“I'm not panicking,” Tony lied.

“I want to get a sense for what you’re looking for in this relationship,” Natasha explained.

It sounded casual, and she was even smiling a little, but Tony’s brain immediately kicked into overdrive.

He didn’t know what answers she was looking for, he realized. He didn’t really know why Bucky and Natasha had approached him in the first place, so there was no way he could try to be or say what they wanted. Maybe they were just interested in a one-night-stand, or a fling?

He’d thought they wanted more, the other night.

“What are you looking for?” he deflected.

Her little smile fading, Natasha touched the wrist of the hand that was petting Alpine, bringing it to a stop. The cat squirmed, but settled. Tony’s heart, on the other hand, was beating hard in his chest at her serious look.

“We’re hoping that you’re interested in a closed relationship. Not just sex, not short-term.”

She looked between his eyes like she could see through them into his head.

Tony wanted to believe it, but… it sounded too good to be true.

“Both of you?”

“Of course,” Natasha said, like he was being silly. She stroked the soft skin on the underside of his wrist. “Bucky and I are committed. We wouldn’t start something like this if we didn’t both want it. Want _ you.” _

Tony sat in silence, a mix of confused and conflicted and unsure if he could trust. Natasha waited patiently, letting him think. 

This was what he’d wanted, right? What he’d secretly been hoping for, when they’d sat on either side of him during drinks with the team the other night, when they’d stayed after everyone else left. When they’d slowly gotten closer together, the three of them, while another bottle of wine disappeared. When the lights dimmed and Bucky slowly leaned in to kiss him, Natasha’s hand smoothing down his arm.

They’d traded soft kisses and warm touches until Tony had felt light-headed from the simple pleasure of it. He hadn’t felt the heavy urge to drag them to bed, like he normally did with one-night-stands. Having Bucky and Natasha around him felt exciting, but also safe and soothing. It felt right.

He’d taken the invitation tonight looking for more of the same. He hadn’t admitted to himself that he’d hoped for anything beyond that.

“That… sounds good,” Tony said at last. He had to clear his throat.

Natasha wound her fingers through his. “Good.”

There was a quiet ding audible from the front of the apartment. A moment later, the door opened.

“Hey,” Bucky said to them as he kicked off his shoes. He was dressed in workout gear, still sweaty and flushed, his hair tied behind his head in a ponytail. He came up to the back of the two-seater, reaching for Natasha, and she leaned away from his hand.

“Ew, no, don’t touch me, go take a shower.”

Bucky huffed, but held his hands behind his back, and Natasha allowed him to peck her on the forehead.

And then he looked at Tony, and it was different, of course. They didn't share the casual ease of long lovers, like there was with Natasha. But when Bucky looked at him, Tony saw interest, hope, affection. It was enough to let him relax.

“Hey,” Tony said.

Bucky leaned down and kissed Tony’s forehead just like he had Natasha’s. Tony smiled involuntarily.

“Glad you could make it,” Bucky murmured. He bent down further, twisting over the couch, so he could kiss Tony’s lips.

Then he reached over Tony’s lap and picked up the white cat. He cradled it against his chest.

“And I’m very happy to see _ you_,” he said to Alpine like he was talking to a baby. “You love me even after I’ve worked out, don’t you?”

Alpine meowed loudly and pushed off of Bucky’s chest, jumping to the floor. He shook his whole body, then walked away proudly.

Natasha burst out laughing and Bucky joined her while Tony stared.

Bucky had rarely smiled since he came to the Tower. Mostly, he looked tired. When he did smile, it was usually for Steve, and it seemed like it took a lot of effort. But now, as he laughed at himself and made a half-hearted effort to chase Alpine (who escaped into the kitchen), then gave in to Natasha’s demand that he go shower, he looked like a different person. A person Tony wanted to get to know better. Tony realized that he was seeing a side of Bucky that Bucky didn’t show many other people.

Natasha took his hand again, distracting Tony from his epiphany.

“We’ve been waiting for you,” she told him. “We want you to stick around.”

She raised an eyebrow in a subtle ‘I told you so’ that Tony was all-too-happy to accept.

“I think I could manage that.”

**Author's Note:**

> (Liho also lives in Stark Tower, but Tony won't find out until the first time he stays overnight and wakes to a pure black cat on his chest and realizes that Bucky and Natasha own a possessed, shape-shifting cat.)


End file.
